The Origin of the Vampire

Tales of supernatural beings consuming the blood or flesh of the living have been found around the world for many centuries. Today, we would associate these entities with what we think of as a "vampire". But in ancient times, the term "vampire" did not exist. This word, as most etymologists agree, came from the Slavic word "vampyr" or "vampir", which first appeared in areas of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia in the 1600s. The word "vampire" was not popularized until the early 18th century. And the Oxford English Dictionary dates the first appearance of the word “vampire” in English at the year 1734.

As Vampire legends date back to thousands of years ago, they have been mentioned in many literature works and movies. The most famous vampire of all times was Count Dracula, who was famous for his fight for freedom against invaders of his people, but the novel "Bram Stoker's Dracula" from 1897 played a very important role in his legend as a well known vampire. In the novel, as well in the movie, Dracula is on a quest to be eternally reunited with the one woman he loves. He travels from Transylvania to London to find the young woman who is the double of the love he lost many centuries earlier. Many say that this is the birth of the legend of the modern idea of Count Dracula, however it is not so much a vampire legend as it is a love story.